Georgia Pines Outpatient Clinics
Category: Mental Health Adult & Youth
Agency Description: Georgia Pines outpatient clinics serve individuals aged 5 and up who are experiencing difficulties with mental health, substance use, and intellectual disabilities. Georgia Pines offers outpatient services including individual, group, and family counseling, behavioral health assessments, case management, psychiatric services, and nursing services. Social Workers provide individual, group, and family counseling as well as behavioral health assessments and crisis intervention to individuals. Intern tasks can include completing biopsychosocial assessments, psychoeducational one on one sessions, crisis intervention, group skills building and group therapy, treatment planning, case management in office, and therapy (for clinical students).
Category: Mental health Youth & Young Adults
Agency Description: Georgia Pines APEX program (GAP): Georgia Pines Mental Health, Community Services Board (GA Pines, CSB) and the local schools work together to provide prevention, assessment, and treatment services to children and adolescents enrolled in schools through a collaborative effort by both parties. A mental health clinician is defined as a member of the GAP (Georgia Apex Project) team who is an employee of the Georgia Pines CSB that is placed in a school to provide prevention, early intervention, and treatment services to students enrolled in the school. Intern tasks can include biopsychosocial assessments, psychoeducation sessions, crisis intervention, group skills building and group therapy, treatment planning, case management, home visits, parent sessions and education, and therapy (for clinical students). There are also opportunities at to assist in the supported employment/supported education program during different semesters. During summer semesters, interns will be required to complete home visits.
Category: Crisis Support
Agency Description: The Georgia Pines Behavioral Health Crisis Center (BHCC) opened on November 15, 2013, in response to the Department of Behavior Health and Developmental Disabilities decision to close Southwestern State Hospital. The Georgia Pines BHCC is one of three BHCC’s located in Region 4 and provides 24/7 emergency receiving and evaluating services for adult individuals needing mental health and substance abuse treatment.
The BHCC has a state certified 24 bed Adult Crisis Stabilization Unit (CSU) and a six bed Temporary Observation Unit (TO). The BHCC provides in-patient detox services and can use two (2) of the CSU beds as Transitional Beds when longer term care is anticipated and as long as the individual can attend off-site day treatment.
Intern tasks can include biopsychosocial assessments, case management, groups, discharge planning.
Category: Substance Abuse
Agency Description: The Phoenix Short Term Residential program in Thomasville expanded to a 50-bed intensive residential treatment program. The 30 day/short term stabilization program admits individuals who are unable to abstain from alcohol and drugs, lack stable housing as well as other barriers as a result of continued substance use. The program consists of physicians, registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, licensed social workers, certified addiction counselors, case managers and paraprofessionals. Intern Tasks can include completing assessments, groups, discharge planning, treatment planning.
Category: Substance Abuse
Agency Description: Medication-assisted treatment (MAT) is the use of medications in combination with counseling and behavioral therapies, which is effective in the treatment of opioid use disorders (OUD) and can help some people to sustain recovery. The duration of treatment should be based on the needs of the persons served. The MAT program offers three approved Food and Drug Administration (FDA) medications which are: (1) Subutex (Buprenorphine); (2) Vivitrol (Naltrexone); and (3) Suboxone (Buprenorphine and Naloxone). MAT Services also include (1) Behavioral Health Assessment/Reassessment and Individualized Recovery Planning, (2) Crisis Intervention, (3) Family Counseling, (4) Group Counseling or Group Training (5) Individual Counseling (6) Crisis Support Services. Intern tasks can include biopsychosocial assessments, case management, group therapy, individual therapy.
Categories: Criminal Justice
Agency Description: Georgia Pines partners with the criminal court systems in different counties of Georgia in their accountability court programs. As part of an effort to reform the criminal justice system in Georgia, the State legislature created Accountability Court Programs in 2012 to offer alternatives to sentencing and incarceration for people convicted of nonviolent crimes. These courts work with people convicted of nonviolent crimes to go through counseling, rehabilitation programs, and community service work to avoid jail time. Individuals in the program include people who suffer from a mental health disorder and/or substance abuse disorder who also has current felony charges or a combination of felony and misdemeanor charges. After an individual enters a plea in court and is admitted to the program; Accountability Court is then made a special condition of their probation. The program is 20-24 months (split into 5 Phases, which includes After Care).
Internship opportunities with this program include:
- Thomas County Mental Health Court
- Grady County, Mitchell County, or Decatur County Drug Court program.
Intern tasks may include completing biopsychosocial assessments, substance use assessments, risk and needs assessments, case management, cofacilitating groups, psychoeducation, crisis intervention, attending biweekly court meetings may have opportunities to shadow clinicians completing assessments in jails/prisons.